This invention relates to new and useful improvements i handling devices particularly designed for use with agricultural chemicals and the like.
Agricultural chemicals, such as pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, and the like are usually highly concentrated and shipped in plastic or metal containers.
Normally, these are lifted onto the sprayer assembly and then manually poured into the sprayer tank. During this operation, there is danger of the operator being splashed by the chemicals, many of which are highly toxic and can be absorbed either orally or dermally, and considerable care must be taken in the transferring of the chemicals to the sprayer tank whereupon they are diluted with water to the correct strength, a process which often causes foaming, splashing and the like.
After the containers have been emptied, they should be thoroughly rinsed in order to remove the majority of the chemicals therefrom at which time they may be disposed of safely and without any danger of contamination occurring to the environment or to unauthorized personnel who may come into contact with such containers.
It is known that devices are on the market for rinsing such containers, but the present device shows considerable improvement over these because it is a self-contained device which, under control of the operator, may be connected to the pump of the sprayer in order to pump the liquid from the container to the sprayer tank without having to elevate and handle the container and then, by operating the valve mechanism thereof, may thoroughly wash the container with water and then pump the diluted chemical from the container into the sprayer tank.
In conjunction with the device is a container piercer which can either pierce the container directly whether it be plastic or metal or, alternatively, can pierce the container through the protective cardboard casing without removing the container thereby permitting the confining and control of chemical transfer from the container to the sprayer apparatus at all times.